Entering the World of Internships

After about a year of learning the ins and outs of the PR world, I finally found the internship that would put these skills to test. The PR internship course offered at SDSU creates a great opportunity to get the experience, while receiving school credit. The process of nailing down an internship seemed a bit challenging at first, but I saw that other students were having success, so I knew I would too. I looked at the list of pre-approved internship places, but thought I would also use the SDSU Career Website and see if anything caught my interest on there. There was a variety of PR firms that were offering internships, some boutique, some with multiple clients, but none that really seemed up my alley. What did catch my eye was a museum in Balboa Bark – The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. This seemed the perfect match for me, since I had just completed my service-learning project in JMS481 for another museum in Balboa Park.

So far the experience has been wonderful. I work directly under the public relations manager, but I also work with the marketing manager. It’s great seeing how the two differ, but also how they work together to get the job done. I’ve been there for about two months now and have had the chance to do a little bit of everything. Much of it is social media related, but there is also the occasional media pitch and writing pieces that I’ll be assigned to do as well. I am one of the few in the PR internship class that is working with an in-house public relations firm, but I still find it very rewarding and more to my liking. There is something to be said about the fact that I can walk out into the museum gallery at any time to see all the families and children and know that they are the reason I am doing what I am doing.

No matter what, just be positive with the experience and use it as a time for learning and growing.  In the end you will have learned even more PR skills and will have met some great connections in the industry. So, with that said, I encourage all the public relations students out there to get your feet wet and see what the internship world is all about!